Chapter 7 Africa South of the

Sahara

# Africa is the second largest continent  11,700,000 sq. mi.

# 10% of the world’s population lives in Africa.
# It is 3 times the size of the U. S.
• Africa is a vast continent with
a variety of landforms and
climates. It is the world’s 2nd
largest continent with 54
countries—more independent
nations than any other
continent.
• The continent is bordered by
• Atlantic Ocean to the west
• Mediterranean Sea to the
north
• Indian Ocean to the east
• Red Sea to the northeast
North Africa
East Africa
REGIONS
Africa is characterized by 5
distinct regions.
Geographic features give
each region its own
identity
Central Africa

West Africa Southern Africa

CONTINENT OF PLATEAUS
• Most of the continent of
Africa is a Plateau (an area
of high ground with a fairly
level surface). The highest
plateaus are in the South
and East
• Rift Valleys in East Africa
separating
 Rift Valleys
 East Africa
 As continental plates
pulled apart over
millions of years, huge
cracks appeared in the
earth
 The land then sunk to
form long, thin valleys
called rift valleys
 Stretch over 4,000 miles
Escarpment
Slope or cliff at the edge of
a plateau or ridge

Cataract
Large waterfall. As rivers flow from
the plateau to the coast they tumble
over cataracts.

Double-edged Sword: Waterfalls and

Power

Problem for
transportation Good for
development

6
 
 
 Atlas Mts

NIGER CHAD
SHAVI NILE
DJOUF
 SUDAN
CONGO Mt Kenya

CONGO

Mt Kilimanjaro
MOUNTAINS
KALAHARI
ZAMBEZI

 Drakensberg
ESCARPMENT 
   7 7 7
Cape Ranges
 Africa’s Environmental
 Issues
Desertification: The expansion of
desert-like conditions as a result of
human-induced degradation
The Sahel and Desertification Libyan
Desert
• Sahel – Zone of ecological Sahara
Sahel Desert
transition between the Sahara
to the north and wetter savannas
and forests to the south
• Life is dependent on reliability of
rains
• Transhumance: The

Nam
movement of animals between h ar i
Kala rt

ib D
e
wet-season and dry-season Des

e se
rt
pasture 8
8
 Africa’s Environmental Issues
• Deforestation
• Extensive woodlands remain, but many
forests have been replaced by grasslands or
farms
• Shortages of biofuels: Wood used for
household energy needs, especially cooking
• Wildlife Conservation
• Wildlife survives because of historically low
population density
 Africa’s Environmental Issues
• Climate and Vegetation
• Warm year-round, while
rainfall varies regionally
• Tropical Forests
Savanna - 51%,
• Congo Basin contains the Tropical Rainforest - 8%,
Desert - 40%
second largest expanse of Mediterranean - 1%,
tropical rainforest in the
About 85% of the land in Africa is not suited to
world farming
• Savannas
• Wet and dry savannas
surround central African
rainforest belt
• Deserts
• Sahara, Namib, Kalahari
10
Different Biomes
Deserts

Sahara Desert

Nam
ib D
ese
l a h ar i

rt
K a
er t
Des
 • Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Desert

Rainforest
Savanna

Most rain comes from the

intertropical convergence
zone (ITZC), a band of
atmospheric currents that Desert
circle the globe around the
equator
• Climate
Zones
 Food Production, Water Resources, and
Vulnerability to Global Climate Change
• Agricultural Subsistence
• Most farming and herding are subsistence
farmers, whereby they produce enough
crops for their own needs with little or no
surplus
• Swidden agriculture practiced in areas
with poorer tropical soils
• Unable to support high population
densities
• Plantation Agriculture
• Crops for export are critical to the
economies of many African states
• Coffee, peanuts, cotton, cocoa, rubber
 Population and Settlement

• Population of Africa
• Widely scattered population
• 2013 estimate – 1.033 billion
• Expected to double by 2050

• Extended families—Very common in Africa—

grandparents, parents, married and unmarried children,
their spouses, and other relatives—all living together
• Some cultures are matrilineal societies, where members
trace their lineage through the female line
• Other African societies are patrilineal, with lineage passed
through the male line
Africa’s “Shrinking” Land Base

Increased population increases

1950
pressures on the land and its
resources. In a hypothetical
situation whereby land is
shared equally among its
population, each individual’s
share of land would decrease
1970
with the increase in population
as time passes, putting more
pressure on resources.
1990

2005

2050
Religion
• Indigenous religions tend to be animistic
• The Introduction and Spread of Christianity
• Entered northeast Africa around 300 A.D.
• Coptic Christians - Ethiopia & Eritrea
• Dutch brought Calvinism to South Africa in 1600s
• The Introduction and Spread of Islam
• Introduced about 1,000 years ago
• Interaction Between Religious Traditions
• Religious conflict most acute in northeastern Africa

Dominant Religions of Africa

Islam
Christianity
Indigenous African Religions
African Religions
• Religious beliefs and practices reflect the great
variety of cultures in Africa…
• Traditional beliefs—frequently vary from tribe to
tribe—passed on by oral traditions—dancing,
singing, and playing music often very common—
prayed for good health, steady rain, a rich harvest,
etc.
Examples:
-Ancestor worship (souls reborn in children)
-Every object on Earth is filled with a living spirit
-Supreme Being created all things
 The Languages of Africa
• Peoples of this region speak more than 1,000
languages, which generally belong to one of four
broad language groups:
• Niger-Congo
• Afro-Asiatic
• Nilo-Saharan
• Khoisan
• The African Union, the continent’s supranational
organization, uses 6 official languages
• English, French, Portuguese, Spanish,
Swahili, and Arabic
 20
African Language Groups and Official Languages
 Beginnings of the Slave Trade
Because much of early African
history was translated orally and
not written, very little is known
until the Europeans arrived
during the Age of Imperialism…
and what is known has likely
been influenced greatly by those
same Europeans.

• The 1st contact between

Africans and Europeans took
place in the 1400s by the
Portuguese explorer.
 Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict
• European Colonization
• It took Europeans centuries to control this
region
• A water route to South Asia and Southeast Asia
• 1500’s- looking for resources; Slaves
• Europe 1850- industrial revolution occurs
• Increased demand for mineral
resources
• Need to expand cash crop production
• Need for markets for industrial
products
• The Scramble for Africa
Liberia and Ethiopia were still
independent
 Direct
military
conquest /
occupation of
territory
Imposition of
Ethnic
an alien legal
cleansing of
system and
difficult
ownership
groups
rights

Mechanisms of
Colonial
Control

Economic Cultural
imperialism imperialism
e.g. exporting through art,
to the home religion and
country language
Government
by dictat,
through
colonial
administrators
 BERLIN CONFERENCE 1884
• 13 States divided up Africa without consideration of
cultures
• Results of superimposed boundaries
-- African peoples were divided.
-- Unified regions were ripped apart.
-- Hostile societies were thrown together.
-- Hinterlands were disrupted.
-- Migration routes were closed off.
• When independence returned after 1950, the region had
already acquired a legacy of political fragmentation –
boundary change unrealistic.

24
 COLONIALISM
French
Spain
Italy

Belgium Germany

Portugal

Britain 25
 THE COLONIAL LEGACY
European language usually continues as the “official”
language – language of government, business, & education.
• Low level of development is linked to
colonization
• Transportation facilities - Movement of goods is
from the interior to coastal outlets. No network was
developed.
• Communication within Africa is impeded by desert,
dense forest, and lack of navigable rivers in certain
regions.
• Dual economy remains intact; most states rely on a
single crop or mineral and are vulnerable to world
markets. They often produce cash crops at expense of
food crops. 26
 Decolonization and Independence
• European colonialism in Africa lasted from roughly
the 1810s to the 1960s
• Decolonization began in 1957
• Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African state to
gain its independence, with Eritrea being the last in
1993
• Neo-Colonialiasm
A form of indirect control over developing
countries, most of them former colonies

27
INDEPENDENT STATES IN AFRICA
1960

1950

1970
INDEPENDENT

28
 Decolonization and Independence
• The Tyranny of the Map
• Difficult to establish cohesive states in Africa
because of legacy of Berlin Conference
• Tribalism: Loyalty to ethnic group not to a state
• Has led to many internal conflicts
• Refugees: People who flee their country from a
well-founded fear of persecution based on race,
ethnicity, religion, or political orientation
• Internally displaced persons: People who
have fled from conflict but remain in their
country of origin
29
Tribalism & Genocide

• Tribalism is
often a stronger
force than
nationalism.
• Political parties
based on tribes
1994 genocide
between Hutus and
Tutsis

30
 The Struggle to Rebuild
• Economic Situation
• Structural adjustment programs: Reduce govt.
spending, cut food subsidies, encourage private sector
• Roots of African Poverty
• Struggling Economies
• Failed Development Policies
Depended on only one, two exports for support
• Corruption
• Kleptocracy: state where corruption is so
institutionalized politicians & govt. bureaucrats take
huge % of country’s wealth

31
 10 PROBLEMS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT

1. Poverty
2. Disease
3. Internal ethnic problems
4. Illiteracy
5. Government instability –
dictatorships, military rule
6. Lack of infrastructure
7. Environmental problems
8. Single-product economies
9. “Brain drain”
10. Little more than “shell states
and landlocked

32
15 Landlocked
countries

Globalization & Diversity: 33

Rowntree, Lewis, Price, Wyckoff
 The Disease Factor:
Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Ebola
• Malaria – A mosquito-borne infectious disease
• HIV/AIDS
• 70 percent of all cases in this region
• originated in the Congo
• social and economic
implications
• hopeful signs

HIV/AIDS
Activism in
South Africa
 The Disease Factor:
Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Ebola
• Ebola
• 2014–2015 outbreak in
West Africa
• No cure available
• International cooperation

Ebola Outbreak
in West Africa
 Economic and Social Development
• Links to the World Economy
• Most African exports to European Union or U.S.
• Aid Versus Investment
• More aid than investment
• Poverty & political instability discourage
investment
• Economic Differentiation Within Africa
• Trade blocks: Southern African Development
Community (SADC), Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Economic
Community of Central African States (CEEAC)

36
Economic and Social Development
Apartheid- South Africa’s policy of
complete segregation of the races
• Banned social contact between
blacks & whites
 Key Players in Apartheid
Mandela jailed 1964 -1990
African National
Congress (ANC)
• Nelson Mandela-• Nelson
Emerged as one of
Mandela
the leaders of the African National
Congress (ANC) in 1949
• Led struggle to end apartheid
• Imprisoned for 27 years
• Later became S. Africa’s president
• 1994 Multi-racial democratic elections

Bishop Desmond
F.W. De Klerk &
Tutu
Economic and Social Development
• Problems lead to pessimism
– Civil wars
– Health problems
– Poverty
• Reasons for optimism
– Large areas of land available for farming
– Signs of declining birth rates
– Some wars have ended
– Improving infrastructure
– To date, successful change in South Africa
39
Finally, We are Finished

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